Sunday Morning Bible Study

November 11, 2012

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?

Announcement: For the sake of the carpet … Starting next week we will be serving coffee outside in front of the kitchen.

This is a book about Real Issues

What’s real? What’s the truth?

We’ve been addressing issues like:

Who is God? What is He really like?

What is a Christian? What is a Christian really like?

4:7-11 Love One Another

:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

:7 Beloved – agapetos – beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love

:7 let us love – agapao – to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.

This is going to be our word for the morning. Five times in just this verse the word for “love” is found. In just these five verses we’re looking at today, forms of this word are found fourteen times.

This will be our working definition of “love”:

Choosing to assign great value to another person.

Present active subjunctive (Robertson says indicative) (1^st time), Present active participle (2^nd time)

:7 love – agape – brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence

:7 is born – gennao – to be born

Perfect passive indicative

:7 knows – ginosko – to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; knowledge based on experience

Present active indicative

:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

:8 does not love – agapao – to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.

Unconditionally choosing to assign great value to another person.

Present active participle

:8 does not know – ginosko – to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; knowledge based on experience

Aorist active indicative

:8 love – agape – brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence

:8 God is love

We’ve already learned about God’s nature, that He is “righteous”.

The one who claims to have God in his life ought to be displaying a life that is “righteous”.

Now John tells us that God in His very nature is “love”.

The person who claims to have God in their life ought to also display a life that is characterized by God’s kind of love.

Be careful here – John isn’t saying “Love is God”.

Some people want to turn this around and say that any kind of “love” is of “God”, and so they try to justify immorality by claiming that it is “love” and therefore it is okay with God. Not so.

It is accurate to say that “Love does not define God, but God defines love”.

Lesson

The Love Test

John is not saying that “loving” others is what makes you “born again”. He’s giving us a new test.

Illustration

Three old men are at the doctor for a memory test. The doctor says to the first old man, “What is three times three?” “274” was his reply. The doctor says to the second man, “It’s your turn. What is three times three?” “Tuesday” replies the second man. The doctor says to the third man, “Okay, your turn. What’s three times three”? “Nine” says the third man. “That’s great!” says the doctor. “How did you get that?” “Simple,” says the third man. “I subtracted 274 from Tuesday”

John is giving us another “test” as to who is a real Christian.

We’ve already seen that the person who is “born of God” also does righteousness and does not live a lifestyle that practices sin. Why? Because God is righteous and if you really know Him, He will be at work to help you become more righteous.

(1 Jn 2:29 NKJV) you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

(1 Jn 3:9 NKJV) Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Now the test is about “love”.

“Loving one another” is not a matter of personality, it is not a matter of what kind of family you grew up in, it is something tied to whether or not you know God.

Jesus said you would know them by their fruits.  

(Mt 7:15–20 NKJV) —15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

John says that love is the test.

Lesson

Love’s Boundaries

One of the things that trips people up concerning “love” is understanding what this kind of love actually looks like.  We don’t understand what the boundaries are to God’s kind of love.

When we think of “love”, we think of the mushy romantic stuff.

Play Princess Bride clip

Don’t get me wrong, I think romance is wonderful. But we make a mistake when we limit love to that happy, warm feeling that mysteriously appears in your heart for no good reason.

That’s NOT what we’re talking about. We are talking about a choice we make when it comes to love, not a feeling we feel.

Other-valued

Agape love is learning to assign great value to another person.

Love says, “I choose to consider you of great value to me”

Paul gave one of the best definitions of this love in 1Corinthians 13. Look at the passage and see if you can see where the emotional thrill is (you won’t see it).

(1 Co 13:4–7 NLT) —4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

When you choose to learn “agape”, you are learning to unconditionally assign great value to another person. That’s when you start doing the kinds of things that Paul describes here.

Humility

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He gave a commandment to His disciples:

(Jn 13:34–35 NKJV) —34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

But before He actually gave this commandment, He had done something very, very strange. He had done something that only a servant would do, He washed the disciples’ feet.

Play “Wash My Feet” clip

His kind of love is a love defined by humility and service to others.

Saying No

Another complication we have with “love” is that we get to thinking that if we “love” someone, we will let them do whatever they want to in their life.

A boy will tell a girl, “If you love me, then you will …”

God’s love sets limits on behavior. It doesn’t let the person who is loved do whatever they want, but encourages them to do what is right.

The author of Hebrews wrote to believers going through difficult times, times when they almost felt like God was “spanking” or “chastening” them.  He wrote,

(Heb 12:5–6 NKJV) —5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”

Sometimes love “chastens” or “disciplines” the person who is loved. Sometimes love sets limits to behavior. Sometimes love encourages the other person to say “no” to the wrong things.

:9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

:9 the love of God was manifested toward us

manifested – phaneroo – to make visible or known what has been hidden or unknown

Aorist passive indicative

:9  toward us

Literally, “in us”.  God’s love was made visible “in us”.

:9 love – agape – brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence

:9 has sent – apostello – to order (one) to go to a place appointed; to send away

Perfect active indicative

:9 only begotten – monogenes – single of its kind, only

:9 we might live – zao – to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead); to enjoy real life

Aorist active subjunctive

Lesson

Love Revealed

God’s love for us was uncovered when He sent Jesus into the world so we could have life.

We have a problem, our sin.  And our sin results in death, not life.  But Jesus came to die in our place and give us life.

We talked about this several weeks ago when we read,

(1 Jn 3:16 NKJV) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us…

Do you wonder if God really loves you?

He does. He has proven His love for you by sending His Son to die for you.

You may not understand the difficulties that are going on in your life.

You may think that you’ve done the worst thing anyone could ever do, and that God could never love you.

But the truth is, He has always loved you, and He proved His love at the cross.

(Ro 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

:10 love – agape – brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence

:10 we loved – agapao – to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.

Unconditionally choosing to assign great value to another person.

Aorist active indicative (both times)

:10 sent – apostello – to order (one) to go to a place appointed; to send away

Aorist active indicative

Indicating an action done at a point in time in the past.

The point in time where God’s love was revealed to mankind was the point in time when God sent His Son into the world in order to pay for our sins.

:10 propitiation – hilasmos – an appeasing, propitiating

This is the word we saw back in 1John 2:2 –

(1 Jn 2:1–2 NKJV) —1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

This is a word related to the Hebrew word kopher, which can mean “ransom” of “covering”.

This is a “compensation for a wrong”, paying the penalty for an offense, paying for that broken window.

:10 not that we loved God

We didn’t initiate this love. It was God who loved us first.

:10 sent His Son to be the propitiation

God’s love for us was demonstrated when God did the most important thing for us, paying for our sins by sending His Son to die for us.

(2 Co 5:21 NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

:11 Beloved – agapetos – beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love

:11 so – houto – in this manner, thus, so

:11 loved – agapao – to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.

Unconditionally choosing to assign great value to another person.

Aorist active indicative

:11 to love – agapao – to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.

Unconditional choosing to assign value to another person.

Present active infinitive

:11 we also ought to love one another

we … ought – opheilo – to owe; to owe money, be in debt for

Present active indicative

We have a debt we owe to one another, the debt of love.

The manner in which God has loved us, sending His own Son to die for us, has brought us into a condition of owing a debt, a debt of love.

Paul wrote,

(Ro 13:8 NKJV) Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Picture a movie where some poor person has gone to his loan shark and begged for leniency in repaying the loan they’ve made. The mobster says, “I will forgive the debt you owe, but now you owe me this one favor …”

God is kind of like that loan shark, except there is nothing evil about Him. In fact He is good.  And He truly loves us.  Yet we do in fact owe Him quite a great deal, so much that we could never repay.

He asks us to do something in response to what He’s done for us: He asks us to love one another.

I hope there are times when you are overwhelmed with God’s love for you.  Sometimes when that happen, there’s a cry in our heart that says, “What could I ever do to repay You for all You’ve done for me?”

There is an answer to that cry. God would reply, “My child, there is something you can do for Me, love others like I love you.”

:11 if God so loved us, we also ought to love

If God loved us in this manner, by giving His only begotten Son, then we ought to love each other in a similar manner – giving others grace, mercy, good things, even when they don’t deserve it.

Lesson

God-like Lovers

We are to love other people like God loves us.  The description of this kind of love comes from our text:

Unconditional

He loved us while we were still sinners.

(Ro 5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Our love for one another needs to be unconditional.

That means we need to learn what it means to “love” even the “jerks” in our lives.

Costly

“sent His only begotten Son” (vs. 9)

(Jn 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

It cost God something in order to love us.  His Son.

(Ro 8:32 NKJV) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Our love needs more than words

The people you claim to love, can they tell that you love them? Does your love for others cost you anything?

Be First

“not that we loved God, but that He loved us” (vs. 10a)

(1 Jn 4:19 NKJV) We love Him because He first loved us.

Sometimes we have this idea that we’ll be glad to forgive the other person, as long as they take the first step.

Love like God does, take the first step.

Jesus didn’t wait for you to repent and be a “nice guy” before He loved you.

Learn to take the first step in repairing a relationship. It’s not always possible, but don’t be the one who sits back and waits.

Coverage

“to be the propitiation for our sins” (vs. 10b)

The word “propitiation” carries the idea of “covering” sins.

(1 Pe 4:8 NKJV) And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

This doesn’t mean that we ignore sin. If we love someone, we will be willing to help them do whatever it takes to stop.

It does mean that we won’t willingly expose them to shame.

Illustration

“THE AGNES STORY” BY TONY CAMPOLO

Jetlag can be brutal, and Tony Campolo had just arrived in Hawaii; he was hungry and he couldn’t sleep. It was 3:00 a.m., though, and the only place open was a grungy dive in an alley in downtown Waikiki. As Tony sat there at the counter munching on his donut and sipping his coffee, in walked eight or nine prostitutes just finished with their night’s work. They all sat down at the counter and Tony found himself uncomfortably surrounded by a whole group of smoking, swearing hookers, recounting their night on the street. He was finishing up his coffee, planning to make a quick getaway, when he heard the woman next to him say to her friend, “You know what? Tomorrow’s my birthday. I’m gonna be 39.” Her friend replied nastily: “So what do you want from me? A birthday party? Huh? You want me to get a cake, and sing happy birthday to you?” The first woman said, “Aw, come on, why do you have to be so mean? Why do you have to put me down? I’m just saying it’s my birthday. I don’t want anything from you. I mean, why should I have a birthday party? I’ve never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?”

Tony suddenly had an idea. Instead of running off, he sat and waited until the women left, and then he asked the guy at the counter, “Do they come in here every night?” ”Yeah,” he answered. ”The one right next to me,” he asked, “she comes in every night?” ”Yeah,” he said, “that’s Agnes. Yeah, she’s here every night. She’s been coming here for years. Why do you want to know?” ”Because she just said that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you think? Do you think we could maybe throw a little birthday party for her right here in the diner?” A smile crept over the man’s face. “That’s great,” he says, “yeah, that’s great. I like it.”

So they made their plans. Tony said he’d be back at 2:30 the next morning with some decorations and the man, whose name was Harry, said he’d make a cake. At 2:30 the next morning, Tony returned with crepe paper and other decorations and a sign made of big pieces of cardboard that said, “Happy Birthday, Agnes!” Together, they decorated the diner from one end to the other and it looked great. Harry had gotten the word out on the streets about the party and by 3:15 it seemed that every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. At 3:30 on the dot, the door swung open and in walked Agnes and her friend. Everybody yelled together: “Happy Birthday, Agnes!” Agnes was absolutely flabbergasted. Her mouth fell open, her knees started to buckle, she almost fell over. And then the birthday cake with all the candles was carried out, and that’s when she totally lost it and began weeping. Harry, who was not used to seeing a prostitute cry, gruffly mumbled, “Blow out the candles, Agnes. Cut the cake.” So Agnes pulled herself together and blew them out. Everyone cheered and yelled, “Cut the cake, Agnes, cut the cake!”

But Agnes looked at the cake and, without taking her eyes off it, slowly said, “Look, Harry, is it all right with you if...I mean, if I don’t...I mean, what I want to ask, is it OK if I keep the cake a little while? Is it all right if we don’t eat it right away?” Harry didn’t know what to say so he shrugged and said, “Sure, if that’s what you want to do. Keep the cake. Take it home if you want.” Agnes got off her stool, picked up the cake, and carried it high in front of her like it was the Holy Grail. Everybody watched in stunned silence and when the door closed behind her, nobody seemed to know what to do. They look at each other. They look at Tony.

So Tony got up on a chair and said, “What do you say that we pray?” And there they were in a hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon, half the prostitutes in Honolulu, at 3:30 a.m. listening to Tony Campolo as he prayed for Agnes. When he finished, Harry leaned over, and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he said, “Hey, you never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to anyway?” It was one of those moments when just the right words came. Tony replied, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.” Harry thought for a moment, and in a mocking way said, “No you don’t. There’s no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. Yep, I’d join a church like that.” Tony then said, “There is a church like that, Harry - started by a man who did just that. Let me tell you about Jesus…”